The final domino in the turbulent history of the Overwatch League is set to fall. According to the Jacob Wolf Report, Activision Blizzard is making preparations for the future by setting up a deal with ESL Faceit Group, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian state.
The teams’ ownership groups are expected to vote on the future of the league. The expected choice is that they’ll vote to dissolve the league, and take a $6 million payout apiece. Overwatch competitions will continue in a more open circuit.
The vote will also do away with the geolocated branding that teams switched to six years ago. Massive names in the sports business world, like New England Patriots owners the Krafts and Comcast Spectacor, who own the Philadelphia Flyers, were invested in the league.
Is this the end for the Overwatch League? Almost certainly. The league itself was an expensive flop with a flawed business plan, and gamers cooled on love for Overwatch itself over the years. Will this be the end for competitive Overwatch holistically? No. In some form, Overwatch will be played competitively in the future.
“With the completion of the 2023 Overwatch League season, we will be focused on building our vision of a revitalized esports program. We’re eager to share more with you as details are finalized,” the league posted on X, formerly Twitter. The statement did a lot to soothe fears about the future, which went into a fever pitch over the summer as the reports about the league’s upcoming year became more and more negative.
In October 2023, UK regulators finally approved the merger of Activision Blizzard and Microsoft. While some fans thought Microsoft would be more hands-on with their approach to the league, hiring out a third party to operate it makes it seem as though Microsoft won’t be as attached as Activision Blizzard was.
